Azul Secures Strategic Investment from Thoma Bravo to Drive Growth and Innovation
Azul, the world’s only company fully dedicated to Java, has announced a transformative milestone with a majority strategic investment from Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm. This landmark deal underscores Azul’s position as a trusted leader in enterprise Java solutions while paving the way for accelerated growth, expanded innovation, and increased global reach. As part of the agreement, Azul’s existing investors—Vitruvian Partners and Lead Edge Capital—will reinvest significant capital and retain minority stakes, aligning with Azul’s employees to support the company’s continued success.
Azul’s mission is to provide the world’s most trusted enterprise Java platform, offering unparalleled performance, security, and cost efficiency for organizations running critical applications. Its flagship products—Platform Core, Platform Prime, and Intelligence Cloud—enable enterprises to execute Java workloads faster, safer, and more economically across hybrid and cloud environments. With a customer base that includes 36% of the Fortune 100 and the world’s ten largest banks, Azul has become a cornerstone for businesses seeking reliable and scalable Java solutions.
The strategic investment from Thoma Bravo will empower Azul to meet the surging demand for high-performance Java platforms. The funding will be used to scale engineering efforts, accelerate innovation in runtime performance, observability, and security tooling, and expand Azul’s footprint in global enterprise and cloud markets.
Strengthening Azul’s Vision for the Future
Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO of Azul, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “We’re thrilled to welcome Thoma Bravo at this exciting time for our company and the Java ecosystem. Their scale, resources, and expertise align seamlessly with Azul’s vision and aspirations, reinforcing our confidence in the significant growth opportunities ahead. We are deeply grateful for their investment, as well as for the continued backing from Vitruvian and Lead Edge. Together, we’ll accelerate our global growth, advance innovation across our platforms, and deliver even greater value to our customers.”
Thoma Bravo recognizes Azul’s pivotal role in addressing the evolving needs of enterprises transitioning away from legacy Java offerings while grappling with rising cloud infrastructure costs. Adam Solomon, a partner at Thoma Bravo, noted, “As enterprises move away from legacy Java solutions and face escalating cloud infrastructure expenses, demand for Azul’s enterprise-ready, scalable, secure, and cost-efficient Java solutions has never been stronger.”
Chandler Gay, a vice president at Thoma Bravo, added, “Azul’s superior technology foundation and talented team position the company for accelerated growth during this dynamic phase of the Java market. We are excited to support Azul as they build on their impressive history of leadership and innovation.”
A Legacy of Partnership and Success
Azul’s existing investors have played a crucial role in its journey over the past five years, helping drive consistent global growth and solidifying the company’s reputation as a leader in the Java ecosystem. Sophie Bower-Straziota, partner at Vitruvian Partners, highlighted the significance of this ongoing collaboration: “We’re very proud of the partnership we’ve formed with the Azul executive team to deliver strong and consistent global growth. We are delighted to continue supporting Azul in its next chapter and welcome Thoma Bravo as the company’s new majority owner. We look forward to deepening our commitment as Azul builds on its track record of exceptional results and pursues the significant opportunities ahead.”
This transaction reflects the shared belief among Azul’s stakeholders in the company’s ability to shape the future of enterprise Java. By combining Thoma Bravo’s industry expertise with the continued support of Vitruvian and Lead Edge, Azul is poised to unlock new levels of innovation and customer value.
Building on a Strong Foundation
Azul’s product portfolio addresses some of the most pressing challenges faced by modern enterprises. Platform Core offers a robust, open-source Java runtime optimized for cloud and hybrid environments. Platform Prime, Azul’s high-performance Java platform, delivers unmatched speed and scalability for mission-critical applications. Meanwhile, Intelligence Cloud provides advanced observability and insights into Java workloads, enabling organizations to optimize performance and reduce costs.
These solutions have earned Azul a reputation for excellence among Fortune 100 companies, global banks, and other leading enterprises. The company’s focus on security, cost efficiency, and seamless integration across diverse IT environments has made it a preferred choice for organizations navigating the complexities of digital transformation.
Strategic Advisors and Financing
To ensure a smooth and successful transaction, Azul and Thoma Bravo have engaged top-tier advisors. Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal advisor to Thoma Bravo, while William Blair acts as financial advisor. On Azul’s side, Kirkland & Ellis LLP serves as legal advisor, and Guggenheim Securities, LLC provides financial advisory services. Additionally, debt financing for the transaction is being provided by funds affiliated with Ares Management LLC, further underscoring the confidence institutional investors have in Azul’s future.
About Azul Systems (“Azul”)
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Azul provides the Java platform for the modern cloud enterprise. Azul is the only company 100% focused on Java. Millions of Java developers, hundreds of millions of devices and the world’s most highly regarded businesses trust Azul to power their applications with exceptional capabilities, performance, security, value, and success. Azul customers include 36% of the Fortune 100, 50% of Forbes top 10 World’s Most Valuable Brands, 10 of the world’s top 10 banks and leading brands like Avaya, Bazaarvoice, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, LG, Mastercard, Mizuho, Priceline, Salesforce, Software AG, and Workday. Learn more at azul.com and follow us @azulsystems.
About Thoma Bravo
Thoma Bravo is one of the largest software-focused investors in the world, with over US$181 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025. Through its private equity and credit strategies, the firm invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors. Leveraging Thoma Bravo’s deep sector knowledge and strategic and operational expertise, the firm collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices and drive growth initiatives. Over the past 20+ years, the firm has acquired or invested in approximately 555 companies representing approximately US$285 billion in enterprise value (including control and non-control investments). The firm has offices in Chicago, Dallas, London, Miami, New York and San Francisco. For more information, visit Thoma Bravo’s website at thomabravo.com.
About Vitruvian Partners
Vitruvian Partners is a global growth-focused investor with offices across London, Miami, San Francisco, Stockholm, Munich, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Singapore and Shanghai. Vitruvian focuses on dynamic situations characterized by rapid growth and change across asset-light industries. Vitruvian has over $20 billion of active funds which have backed many leaders in their sectors, including Just Eat, Arrive, Skyscanner, Marqeta, Wise, Global-e, CFC, Darktrace, and Bitdefender. Further information can be found at www.vitruvianpartners.com
About Lead Edge Capital
Lead Edge Capital is a $5 billion growth equity firm investing in software, internet, and tech-enabled businesses globally. The firm has invested in a number of major software and internet companies around the world, including Alibaba Group, Arrive Logistics, Asana, Azul Systems, Bazaarvoice, Benchling, Clearscore, Duo Security, Grafana, GrowthZone, Holistiplan, LeanStaffing, LiveView Technologies, Pacemate, Safesend, Signal Sciences, Tempo, Toast, Wise, and YouSign. One of the main drivers of Lead Edge’s success is its unique investor base, a network of 700+ executives, entrepreneurs, and dealmakers who have built and run some of the world’s most successful companies. In addition to providing flexible capital, Lead Edge leverages this global advisory group to connect portfolio companies with the customers, partners, talent, and advisors needed to accelerate growth. Lead Edge Capital was founded in 2011 and has offices in New York City, London and Santa Barbara.
